“Bullshit.” He spat out the word with a harsh crack.
Her mask slipped, and she clenched her jaw. She had no idea how this conversation went downhill so fast. “Excuse me?”
“I’m sorry.” Some of the aggravation faded from his words. “It’s a reasonable expectation. But you’re hiding something. What aren’t you telling me?”
How the hell did he know that? She didn’t want to bring up the C&D. Once she dealt with things, it wouldn’t be an issue. She fumbled for something else to say, though. Damn it. Why didn’t she think this through sooner? Because she hadn’t expected him to be so perceptive. Or maybe he was bluffing.
“Cynthia.” His tone was sharp. “You don’t walk into a business relationship keeping secrets. If this impacts the bottom line, disclose it.”
“I didn’t develop the app alone.” She measured her words, fumbling for the best way to paint the situation.
“Don’t make me call this off.”
Panic surged inside. “No. There’s no reason for that. It’s not anything that affects you.”
“I need to be the judge of that. If it touches your business at all, and it involves money, it involves me.”
She had to come clean. She couldn’t think of any other way around it. “My roommate developed a lot of the back end code. A while back we had a falling out, and now she wants me to buy her out of her intellectual property.” There. That kept any mention of legal issues out of things but was still the truth.
“You didn’t think it was important to bring this up sooner? That’s the kind of thing you should mention up front.” The emotion was fading from his voice, leaving a cool tone in its place.
“I didn’t know until a few days ago.”
“That you were using her IP?”
“That she was going to sue me for it.” Cynthia bit the inside of her cheek. Not what she wanted to say. Despair built inside. Was there any way to salvage things at this point? Sure there was. She’d tell Aaron her plan to buy out Emily, show him it was a viable decision, and beg forgiveness for not mentioning it sooner. He’d had her jump through enough hoops so far, he had to still be interested in the company.
“Fuck. There are lawyers involved?” He didn’t seem to be in an understanding mood.
Desperation bled into panic. “Yes. But if I could talk to her, there wouldn’t have to be. I could make things better, but I don’t know how to get a hold of her.” She wasn’t helping her situation any.
“You’re not on speaking terms. She’s suing you. But everything’s under control?” It sounded so bad when he put it like that.
“Right now it’s a cease and desist. No lawsuit yet.”
“Yet. I’m not forming a partnership with someone accused of IP theft. I don’t care if you have the most amazing product in the history of the universe—which you don’t—that’s a death knell for an investor.”
“But there’s a buy-out amount. Once that’s settled, this goes away. No more issues.” Why hadn’t she told him about this when she found out? Because she didn’t think it was a big deal.
“Did you have a lawyer confirm that?” he asked.
“I can’t exactly afford—”
“God damn it, Cynthia. Are you serious?”
She was scrambling for the right thing to say, but nothing came to mind. “If I know I’m being funded, I can make arrangements.”
His sigh rattled her thoughts. “Send over a copy of the paperwork, and I’ll run it by my attorney. I’m not making any promises, though. I can’t walk into a situation like this if there’s even the slightest chance it’s going to fall apart. Anyone reputable will say the same thing. Hell, you should be saying it.”
“I’ll send it over right now. Thank you.”
“Yeah. I’ll be in touch, one way or another.” The line went dead.
Cynthia set the receiver back in its cradle and tried to swallow the fear crawling through her. Had she lost her only opportunity to make this happen? Washed years of work down the drain? Was two in the afternoon too early for a drink?
GAVIN TUGGED ON A BASEBALL cap and grabbed his sunglasses. Aaron called it his Superman disguise. Because Clark Kent still looked like Superman, even with the glasses. Gavin’s argument was that he’d dyed his hair and wore colored contacts, and most people had no idea who he was. The rest of it only helped add anonymity.
His brain had been reset since last night. The headlines should have freaked him out, but the standard concern wasn’t there. He wasn’t interested in dealing with fans or the paparazzi, though.
“Gavin.” A woman called his name as he neared Aaron’s building.
He gritted his teeth, pulled his hat down lower, and kept walking.
“Gavin Jackson.” She stepped in his path with two friends. Her cheeks were flushed dark pink, and a grin threatened to split her face. “It is you, isn’t it?”
Years of interacting with fans had him hardwired to not be rude, regardless of how he felt about the interruption. He returned her smile. “That’s me.” He leaned in and dropped his voice to a stage whisper. “But don’t tell. I’m incognito.”
A giggle rippled through the small group. “Of course not.” She held up her phone and tugged him toward them at the same time. “Can we get a picture with you?”
“Sure.” He draped his arms over their shoulders, and let them press their cheeks to his. The interaction wasn’t bad—they were all friendly—but the attention they drew made him twitch. Especially when they begged him to take off the hat and sunglasses or else our friends will never believe it was you.
He lingered on the hint of smugness that he was right about his Superman disguise.
It felt like an eternity later but was only a couple of minutes, when they thanked him, gave him a hug each, and were on their way.
Gavin couldn’t escape the curious stares from passersby fast enough. He ducked into the building Aaron worked in, and moments later, he reached his destination.
Aaron looked up from his computer, tired lines marring his eyes and forehead. Guilt wormed through Gavin that he’d grumbled over something as simple as a couple of photos when his partner looked like he was having the day from hell.
“You all right?” He crossed the room and kissed Aaron before dropping into an empty chair.
“Long day.”
“Sounds like a good excuse to take off a little early, so we can go somewhere and unwind you.”
Aaron shook his head. “I can’t. I have to run VitaStat paperwork and something for Cyn by Legal, and then get back to this stack of work calling my name.”
“If you’re at the Legal point with Cynthia, that’s a good thing, right?” Gavin asked.
“It’s really not.”
“What’s going on?” Gavin’s concern grew.
Aaron’s phone rang. “It’s Liz. I should take it.”
Gavin liked Aaron’s business partners. They were intelligent, friendly, and all of them together made a great firm. “I want to say hello.” Gavin reached over the desk and hit the Speaker button. “Hey, Liz. Is this a top-secret kind of phone call?”
“Hey, yourself.” She sounded cheerful. “And no, it’s not. I just need to finalize whether Aaron will be out here for the vendor summit next month.”
Some of the lines faded from Aaron’s face. “We’re looking forward to it.”
“Fantastic. While I have you on the line, how’s the Cinderella thing going?” Liz asked.
Aaron sank lower in his seat and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Not good. The founder neglected to disclose that her former business partner is suing her over intellectual property.”
“What?” Gavin was stunned. That didn’t sound like Cynthia. Not that he knew her that well, but she didn’t give a stealing-someone-else’s-idea kind of vibe.
“That sucks.” Liz was sympathetic. “Who’s her business partner?”
Aaron glanced at his monitor. “Emily Lowry.”
“I know her. Well, not personally. It’s
more like a three-degrees-of-separation thing,” Liz said.
That was curious.
The way Aaron stared at the phone, it looked like he felt the same way. “How?”
“Everyone with big money in tech knows everyone else.” Liz said it as if it was the most obvious thing ever.
Gavin didn’t agree. “We’re big money in tech, and we don’t know her.”
“I don’t even think she comes from money,” Aaron added. “She was Cynthia’s roommate.”
Liz made a tsk sound. “You know me, and I know people who know Ms. Lowry, so it’s the same thing.”
Aaron scrubbed his face. “Not that it matters. I told Cynthia I couldn’t work with her if she was having these kind of problems up front.”
“You have to.” The insistence came out with more force than Gavin intended. He reined in his response when Aaron raised his brows. “That is—her idea is good. It’s golden.” That wasn’t an exaggeration. Gavin was fascinated by her concept.
“It is a pretty decent proposal.” Liz agreed. “I’d hate to see you pass it up over something like this.”
Aaron scowled. “You passed it up.”
“I have too much on my plate, to give her the attention she deserves.”
Gavin wouldn’t mind giving Cynthia a little more attention, but that wasn’t what Liz meant.
“Unless you’ve got a magic wand of some sort for this situation, I don’t think I have a choice but to drop her.” Frustration bled from Aaron’s words. “She doesn’t know how to get a hold of this Emily, she can’t even afford legal counsel to deal with the complaint, and I can’t invest in a company the owner doesn’t have the rights to.”
“I can get you contact information,” Liz said.
“I— What?” Aaron looked as shocked as he sounded.
Gavin felt his good mood from earlier returning. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.” Liz was chipper. “I’ll email it over when I’ve got it. If anyone asks, it came from Andrew.”
“Who’s Andrew?” Gavin wanted to know.
“Does it matter?”
Aaron twisted his mouth. “I kind of feel like it does.”
“Trust me, it doesn’t.” Liz assured him. “I just hope they can work this out. I’d like to see you with this dating-app thing on your long-term list.”
Gavin would, too. “Thank you, Liz. Brilliant as always.”
“Yeah, I am. Enjoy your afternoon, gentlemen.” Liz disconnected.
Gavin looked at Aaron. “Is your afternoon getting any better?”
“Don’t know yet.” Aaron let out a long sigh. “But I’m thinking so.”
Chapter Twelve
CYNTHIA STARED AT THE phone number in Aaron’s email. He insisted it belonged to Emily. Cynthia wanted to call, but doubt and more than six months of no communication had her paralyzed. She missed Emily dearly, and at the same time didn’t want her to think the dating app was the only reason Cynthia was reaching out.
She was also curious as hell about why it was an international number. Maybe Emily was finally living her dream of traveling.
Cynthia sucked up her courage and dialed. Each new ring in her ear made her wince. She’s not going to pick up.
The line clicked. “This is Emily.”
Cynthia’s voice caught, and she forced her hesitation aside. “Hey. It’s Cynthia.” She braced herself for the line to go dead.
“You got a new number.” Emily didn’t sound upset or disappointed. In fact, her tone was flat. Impossible to read.
“I’m leasing office space. This is my official work line. And so did you. I hope that means you’re seeing the world.” The apology Cynthia should be spitting out wouldn’t come.
“I didn’t expect to hear from you.”
This was Cynthia’s opening. “I’ve been looking for you for a while. To say I’m sorry. To grovel until you believe me. You don’t have to forgive me, but I’m hoping we can get to a point where you do.”
“How’d you get my number?”
“Andrew?” Cynthia read from Aaron’s note. “Before you ask, I don’t know who that is.”
Emily’s sigh echoed over the line. “I do.”
Cynthia waited for more of an explanation. She wanted to ask if it had anything to do with where in the world Emily was, but they weren’t at the point where that kind of familiarity was appropriate. When Emily didn’t continue, Cynthia filled in the dead air. “I’m sorry. So completely. About everything I said last time we talked. I was wrong about all of it, and you didn’t deserve that, and I don’t know how to make it up to you.”
“How’s Paul?” An edge crept into Emily’s voice.
Cynthia swallowed the bile rising in her throat. This wasn’t going well. “Homeless and jobless in Texas, last I heard. That was shortly after you moved out.”
“What happened?”
“Not a clue beyond that he met a woman online and moved. He’s not speaking to me. When I found out it was him who broke your trust and he confirmed it, I kicked him out. He was furious that I took your side. I should have done it a lot sooner.”
“Yeah. You should have.” Despite the words, Emily’s tone softened.
“I really am sorry.”
“I’m kind of over it. I’m still a little pissed, but it led to good things.”
A whisper of relief fluttered behind Cynthia’s ribs. “I’m hoping we reach a point where I find out what those things are.”
“We might.”
Cynthia wasn’t sure what to say next. If she was going to repay Aaron for getting her this information, she’d need to ask about the app and the legal issues, but she was enjoying the tentative peace too much to spoil the mood.
“How’s the Glass-Slipper thing going?” Emily asked. “Is that why you’re renting an office? Is it taking off?”
“It’s a bit stalled.” Was Emily baiting her?
“What happened?” Emily’s question sounded genuine.
“Are you serious?”
“No. I don’t give a shit about your adult life’s work.” Emily was sarcastic, but not in a cruel way. “Of course I’m serious.”
This had to be a setup. “You filed a cease and desist, for me to either stop development or buy out your intellectual property.”
“I did not— Oh.” Emily paused. “God damn it, Justin.”
“What?” A male voice echoed in the background.
Cynthia spun the name against the list in her head and found a fast match. “Justin? The guy who—”
“Yes. One and the same,” Emily said. “I didn’t file any legal paperwork against you. What’s the law firm name?”
Cynthia read it off the letterhead, and Emily’s groan cut her off.
“I may have—maybe once—mentioned in passing to Justin that I threatened you, when we were fighting,” Emily explained. “But I didn’t expect anyone to take that information and run with it.” Her voice grew in volume but was muffled, as if she’d pulled the receiver from her mouth to talk to someone else.
“You don’t toss around terms like lawsuit and intellectual property theft and not mean it,” Justin shouted loud enough for Cynthia to make out his response.
“What I don’t understand is how he knew you were working on it.” Emily was speaking into the receiver again, but her voice was still raised.
“I’ve been pounding the pavement pretty hard for investors,” Cynthia said. “I’m guessing half of L.A. knows.”
“She’s buying our data.” That was Justin again. He sounded closer this time.
“It’s not— You know what? I’ll talk to you when I’m done on the phone.” Emily’s tone was playful.
Cynthia couldn’t help but smile at the interaction. “You sound happy.”
“I am. You and I have a lot to catch up on.”
“I didn’t call because of the money. I don’t want you to think that. You deserve your share, but I miss you. I fucked up.”
“You did.” Emily sighed “But I miss y
ou too. I’ll tell Justin to call off the legal dogs.”
Cynthia felt the brightest glimmer of hope that she had in a long time. “I’ll set you up with a salary or a board position, or whatever I can, as soon as it’s an option.”
“I’m not worried about it.” Emily sounded like she meant it. “And I want to catch up, but it’s late here. Call me this weekend, and we’ll chat?”
“I will.” Cynthia hung up the phone, giddiness dancing inside.
Now she had to convince Aaron to move forward with the next steps. She only needed her luck to hold out a little longer.
THE FIFTY GAVIN SLIPPED the maître d' was a painless way to guarantee a seat in a quiet back corner of the restaurant. Gavin refused to think too hard about the instinct that compelled him to rest a hand at the small of Cynthia’s back and guide her toward their table.
Aaron pulled out a chair for her and pushed it in as she sat.
When she’d met them outside, he thought the way her dress hugged her body was tantalizing. Now the black skirt slid a few inches higher up her thighs, exposing more of her legs. He forced his gaze away and took his seat as Aaron did the same.
Gavin was happy this business deal was happening. Aaron pointed out there were still several weeks of paperwork and due diligence, but it was easy to convince him this was cause to celebrate. Cynthia took a little more work to talk into dinner, to seal the start of their partnership.
As they picked up their menus, Gavin’s gaze fell on three women a few tables over. He swore they all turned away with a giggle when he looked in their direction. He shook the observation aside. Habit and experience had him on edge, especially after the rash of articles and the fans in front of Aaron’s office the other day, but he couldn’t start seeing shadows everywhere. He needed to stow the paranoia. Until recently, people recognizing him was a rare thing.
The waiter took their orders. For a second, Gavin considered ordering a glass of wine. He opted for the seltzer with a slice of lemon instead.
“I’ve been wondering...” Cynthia said. “I’m not sure I should ask, but curiosity is winning out.”
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